Well… what can I say? Everybody loves short ribs, and there’s really very little way to fuck these up or not make someone who even vaguely likes meat appreciate the splendor of this preparation. As for the gratin, well it’s just insult to injury as far as your endorphin receptors are concerned. I really really love rutabaga and I think it’s an underserved and possibly under-appreciated root vegetable. I believe it is some kind of turnip, but it’s pale orange color and delightfully nutty flavor practically scream Autumn so when you set out to make this dish, prepare to snuggle up after feasting. In addition, its ability to retain some of its firmness and bite after intensive cooking make it especially appealing for this preparation, as the potatoes around it turn to fluff.
As with all braises, you can do this on the stove top or in the oven – I like to keep this on the stove top to control the liquid level so it doesn’t get too low. With things like lamb shanks, I sometimes like to have them become exposed so I end up with nicely roasted bits, but I like to keep the short ribs as tender as can be.
Finally, a few word about short ribs…there are two cuts – English and Flanken. Do NOT get Flanken cut! Those are meant for a totally different purpose. Flanken is crosswise, so you’ll have many different bones in each piece that the butcher sells you; English cut is cut along the rib, so each piece contains one bone and a lot of meat. This is the one you want for this recipe. You can also buy them boneless – which is generally the English cut without the bone – and you really don’t want this either. You’re going to make a sauce out of the braising liquid when you’re done, and the bones are crucial to creating the body and texture (let alone flavor) you want.
Ingredients:
Short Ribs
- Two large English-cut short ribs
- ¼ cup white wine or vermouth
- 1 medium large yellow onion
- 1 large carrot
- 1 large stalk of celery
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- Small handful of fresh thyme (still on stems)
- Small handful of parsley stems (or stems and leaves, whatever)
- 8-12 peppercorns
- 4 cups best-quality chicken stock
- 2 TBSP butter
- Salt and black pepper
Gratin
- 1 lb waxy potatoes, sliced thin on mandolin
- 1 lb rutabaga, sliced thin on mandolin
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 TBS butter
- 2 TBS Wondra
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1.5 cups coarsely grated Gruyère cheese
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
For the short ribs:
Trim any excessive fat from the ribs, and if they have excessive fat, don’t visit that butcher any more. Seriously – the only time I ever fucked this up I had excessively fatty ribs and the sauce just became a slime bucket. It sucked. Don’t go crazy with the fat – this is tough, streaky cut that gets so good because all the connective tissue and other stuff dissolves slowly over a long period of time into your sauce – but definitely get rid of any large chunks that are hanging around.
Then, liberally salt and pepper the meaty side and the bone side of the short ribs. Film the bottom of a high-sided, heavy-bottom pot with a small amount of high heat oil (like safflower or sunflower) and place over high heat. Your choice of pan or pot matters here – it should be just small enough to contain the two ribs. If there is a lot of real estate between the ribs and the edge of the pan, the juices and stuff that they spit out when they’re searing will burn and then this bitterness will incorporate into your braise. (This is a general rule of cooking with high heat anyway.) Also, if your pan is too large, you’ll have to add a lot of liquid to cover the ribs, and then it won’t be concentrated enough to pack the full punch it should have. If you’re going to make this dish with any regularity, it’s worth investing in the proper size pot.
When the pot is screaming hot, place the short ribs in, meat side down and don’t touch it for a solid two minutes. Check the sear by lifting a corner – it should be a deep chestnut brown before you flip it. Do so and cook for about the same time – unless the pot is just going crazy smoking – then remove to a platter or shallow bowl. Add the mirepoix and garlic, and stir, using the liquid from the vegetables to deglaze the bottom and sides of the pot. Don’t let them burn but cook the aromatics for about 5 minutes on high heat until they’re soft (a soft carrot is usually a good measure of readiness), then deglaze with the wine. Some people add tomato paste before the wine. I don’t disparage those who do and I’m sure it adds depth and umami to the final dish, but I don’t do it. When almost all the wine is evaporated, press the vegetables down to make a bed, place the ribs lovingly on the bed, along with any juices that have collected in their bowl or platter, cover with (hot if possible) stock, and add the herbs. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low and let simmer for 2.5 to 3.5 hours. You can add more liquid if necessary and flip the ribs around, but for the most part don’t touch it. Shorter than 2.5 hours and it won’t be tender enough – seriously, you want this melting – and longer than 3.5 hours and you risk it turning into mush, depending on the cow, the life it led, what it ate, where it lived, and how old it was when it was slaughtered.
When you’ve verified that they’re tender enough to be eaten by a toothless baby, remove them and set aside to cool slightly. Pass the braising liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a large mixing bowl. Press on the solids to remove all the goodness, then discard. Return the liquid to the stove, this time in a small sauce pan (small sauce pans with tapered sides are best for reducing and therefore transforming liquids into sauces) and place on high heat. Let it come to a rolling boil and reduce down till it is a sticky, rich, velvety consistency (see lamb shanks recipe for a guide), then mount with butter.
Meanwhile, when the ribs are cool enough to handle, I like to remove the bone and the strap meat before serving. Some people think it’s cool to have a big bone on their plate – I got no problem with that, but I do have a problem with strap meat, which is a thin layer of tough tissue that connects the rib meat to the bone. This never tenderizes and only should be eaten by people from places like Wyoming or Australia. So I get rid of both bone and strap.
The bone should slide right out with minimal coaxing – the meat may curl around the strap meat, which can either be peeled away or easily sliced off. Once they’re both removed, place the two short ribs back in the sticky sauce and hold over very low heat to warm through until you’re ready to serve. I don’t see any reason they couldn’t be held there for up to an hour or so. But you’ve been cooking these for 3 hours, so you should have made your gratin already, and done some dishes too, and gotten more than a little bit drunk while you were waiting around.
On to the gratin:
Preheat the oven to 425; while your short ribs are bubbling away happily, slice your potatoes and rutabaga.
Slice a whole clove of garlic in half length wise and rub the bottom of a large pot with the sliced side. Really press on it so the sticky oil and juice comes out. Do the same to a baking dish, then discard.
Melt the butter, add the flour, make a blond roux and cook for about a minute or two. Add the milk, whisk to incorporate; when it comes just to a boil and thickens, add the cream. When it has fully warmed, add the potato and rutabaga slices – distributing them evenly in the pot – salt, and pepper. The potatoes will absorb a lot of salt, so you can be liberal. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, until the potatoes have softened slightly and the liquid has thickened noticeably. You want to try to leave the slices as whole as possible – some breakage is to be expected, but don’t go crazy stirring it around. Just make sure you don’t get potato slices sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add a cup of Gruyère, stirring gently to incorporate and melt.
Pour the entire mixture into the baking pan. Shake it from side to side to even it out. Try to make sure that the whole thing is evenly layered and that all the slices are lying flat and are pretty evenly distributed between potato and rutabaga. Top with the remaining Gruyère and place in the oven for about 25 minutes, until the top is bubbly and brown. Remove and let stand for about 10 minutes to calm down.
You should be able to time these so that they’re done at the same time, but both are pretty forgiving. You don’t want to serve either cold, of course, but they’re both easy to hold warm if need be.
To serve, cut a rectangle out of the gratin and put on a plate. Then place the rib next to it and smother in the sauce. Or if you like to get crazy, cut a piece of gratin the exact size of a short rib and place the meat directly on top, then smother in sauce. Enjoy immensely.
The Grumpy Gastronome 
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